My Eyes Adored You
by caledoniawolf
Summary: A series of three drabble oneshots, dealing the changes of the Once-ler's relationship through his life. Young, Greedy, and Old Once-ler will be featured.
1. The Meeting: Introduction

It all started the day she saved him from that incident in the river. He remembered that day with such vibrant clarity, both due to the nature of his near death experience and prospect a new-found friendship that had emerged out of that faithful day. For you see, the Lorax's plan to safely sail the Once-ler out of the valley, had well... gone kind of awry. Instead of using his bed to sail him down the river and out of the valley, the Once-ler found himself bobbing amongst the white waters of the river. Struggling to keep his head above the water the Once-ler saw a shadowy enter the water and make its way towards him, as the darkness engulfed his senses. Suddenly, he was pulled away from a blinding light and from out of the darkness his eyes opened to revealed to her face. That was all it took. From that day the two developed a mutual friendship, that has blossomed into something more.

**(Planning to make this into a series of 3 drabble oneshots featuring young-Once-ler, greedy-Once-ler, and finally old-Once-ler. Be on the lookout for more.)**


	2. Sweet Innocence: Chapter 1

Twilight descended a sense of quiet across the valley, leaving only the hum of the humming fish, the echo of distant murmurs, and the working fingers of knitting needles audible in the overall stillness of the night. The Once-ler and she sat in his makeshift "home" attempting to catch up on the thneed orders that had begun to flood in. His business really had picked up and it had become apparent he couldn't keep up production without another set of hands knitting these thneeds. So there they were, sitting mainly in silence attempting to create the fuzzy pink contraption that was the thneed.

Finally, the silence was broken with an exasperated sigh followed by her voice.  
>"Once-ler…" she spoke clearly, in an attempt to gain his attention.<br>"Hmm", he responded in an effort to seem deeply concentrated on the task at hand. While in reality, his eyes had been lingering in her direction.  
>"I think I need some help with this", she stated matter-of-factly, while holding up her poor attempt at knitting for him to remedy.<p>

With a chuckle, he patted the spot on the bed, on which he was sitting, motioning her to join him. She gladly jumped up from her spot on the floor and joined him on the side of the bed, eager to be closer to him and to learn from his expertise. From his place on the bed, he took hold of her hands and slowly guiding hers with his nimble fingers through the proper motions of knitting technique, slowly a blush crept up upon his cheek as he did.

"How did you get so good at this, anyway?"  
>"Lots and lots of practice." Trying to stay concentrated on the task at hand as well as attempting to maintain his "cool" demeanor.<br>Remember, I'm not exactly mister social", he replied. The blush on his face growing pinker still as she moved closer to his body, trying to separate the gap between them.

Giggling at his remark, she took notice of this grabbed a hold of his hands, ultimately stopping the knitting project, and turned to look up upon his face. He turned to her shooting a questioning glace, only to have her lips meet his in the form of chaste kiss, which he gladly returned. Breaking apart, his blush quickly enveloped into a deep red tint that coated his entire face. Blushing herself, she pulled away and rested her head upon his shoulder, a content smile plastered on her face. No words needed to be spoken; the gesture had transcended the use of them. With that he couldn't help thinking how perfect everything was becoming, and how it was just going to keep getting even better.


	3. Rising Lust: Chapter 2

Something was different about him, yet …everything was the same. He somehow seemed changed around her; however, she couldn't quite put her finger on it. He was still the same old Once-ler, the same man who loved and adored her; but still she could not completely ignore the sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach.

Standing by the large bay window overlooking the dwindling Truffula valley she let her thoughts consume her, barely noticing that the solitude of the room had been broken by a lean figured adorn completely in green. She was pulled back to reality by the touch of slender arms, still donning an infamous pair of green gloves, snaking around her waist and pulling her close. Using his grasp upon her waist, he pulled her body close against his; nuzzling his face into the skin along her jaw line. Her scent, clean like after a rainstorm, both encaptivated and aroused him. The warmth of her body against his fueled his growing desire for her… he had to have her now.

Completely enveloped by him, she turned slowly into his body to face him lifting her eyes to meet his. That's when she saw it, the look in his eyes – the something different. His eyes had been overflowing with a sense of lust and a new hunger had arisen, a hunger –she assumed- for her. He wanted her, all of her, to make her his and nothing else had the power to impede or quell this new found desire. The lust in his eyes had come to replace the once sweet innocence that had resided there. _But was it so wrong for him to feel this way? _She thought briefly, after all the two had been together for quite some time, growing as individuals as well as a couple, it was only natural. Wasn't it?

She allowed her thoughts to escape her, melting into him once he planted his lips upon hers, making his intentions for the evening clearly known.

* * *

><p>Brimming with pleasure the couple lay together, limbs intertwined, drinking in the ecstasy of their love making. She laid in the crook his neck, ear upon his heart, holding him close listening for the rhythm of his heartbeat-the one thing that had always remained a constant. She was blissful and finally forgot the sinking feeling of an earlier problem, for she was with him and nothing else mattered. As she drifted to sleep the Once-ler, lying upon his back, starred at the ceiling both relishing in the escapades of the evening as well as the idea of biggering and biggering. He thought of nothing from the past, and only the promise of his future.<p> 


	4. You've Just Lost Everything: Chapter 3

**(Author's Note: After receiving a pretty decent amount of feedback from the last chapter, I decided to add a chapter to my original idea for you guys. This chapter's purpose is to both to set the stage for the next/final chapter and to experience the relationship with Greed-ler at his height. Warning: Crappy dialogue is crappy.) **

She sat at the foot of their bed, contemplating the anxiety that had hovered over her head for what seemed like an eternity. In doing so she had come to a realization- this Once-ler, the one obsessed with greed and driven by power, was not the same man she had fallen in love with.

Sighing heavily, she slowly rolled up from her spot on the bed and absentmindedly made her way across the room, finally stopping to admire a set of photos adorning her dresser. She lifted up the frame closest to her hand from its position on the dresser; the image revealed a snapshot of her and Once-ler during the early days of their relationship and along with that photo came an influx of memories flooding her mind. Their first date, the first time they kissed, the new found experiences of love-making, multiple anniversaries and birthdays celebrated – all of which seemed to have occurred a lifetime ago.

Her reminiscing was disturbed by the gentle sound of someone clearing their throat. She turned slowly, attention still foggy from the experience of her flashbacks, only to come face to face with the one and only, the legendary Lorax, upon the ledge of her window.

"It's a been a long time", she replied in almost a whisper, eyes welling up at the sight of the creature.

The Lorax nodded and smiled; accepting her greeting, and replied with a statement. One she had almost expected but nonetheless took her by surprise. "Ya need to talk with Beanpole about the state of valley, only you can get through to him now. I've been tryin' for years and see where it's gotten me?" he declared with a heavy heart ,as he swept his hand across the horizon, showing her the absolute desolation left in the Once-ler's wake.

She shook her head in denial of the statement; the weight of the words she was about to speak weighed heavy on her heart, making them almost impossible to reiterate. "No, he won't listen to me… a new idol has replaced me in his heart."

* * *

><p>The conversation with the Lorax still fresh in her mind, she made her way to confront the Once-ler. The recognition of her reality and a sense self -constructed confidence compelled her composure as she made the trek from their bedroom down to his office. Determined to keep her head held high, she made her way through the hallway towards his office. Moving past the reception desk, and she only slightly heard the objections of Once-ler's mother. "Oncie, isn't seeing anyone at the moment!" Not meeting his mother's gaze or slowing her pace she replied coldly, "He'll see me", as she opened the massive doors to his office.<p>

Upon entering the room she received the usual verbal barrages that Once-ler gave to anyone disrupting his work; all of which she completely ignored, jumping directly into the conversation she had planned to discuss with him.

Calmly, she met his gaze and spoke; this being her final attempt to appeal to "her Once-ler", not the greed consumed monster before her.

"You need to stop this Once-ler. This business has changed you, you're destroying everything you've ever cared about, and if you can't realize this…then you're truly not the man I fell in love with anymore."

After hearing her words a smile slowly crept up upon his face and a snicker escaped his mouth before he spoke.

"Of course I'm not; I am much more than that weakling ever was or could hope to be!" Finishing his statement with a fist to his desk only to further drive his point. " And how dare you speak to me in that way!" his voice now quaking with rage. "Haven't I given you everything? Provided for you? Shown you every luxury the world has come to know?"He paused to catch his breath before continuing, clearly further enraged. "Well, if you're so unhappy leave…no one is stopping you. There are a million women dying to take your place anyway, I can have my pick."

His words stung hard, fiercely laced with venom. A single tear rolled down her cheek as she spoke a final set of words to him. "I hope this makes you happy now…choosing this. I hope it's finally enough."

And with that he was alone again, but only briefly, for another unwelcome visitor had come to call.

"You've done it now Beanpole, you've lost the only creatures who've ever truly cared about you."

As those words escaped the Lorax, the sound of a lone Truffula tree falling echoed through the valley and with that sound the Once-ler finally had a realization of what he had done.


	5. Chance For Redemption:Chapter 4

**(First off I wanted to tell you all thank you for all the positive feedback I have received in response to this story. It really means the world to me guys. As such, I figured I would prolong the ending of this story just a little longer. So expect at least one more chapter. Enjoy.) **

Many seasons had passed since the fall of the final Truffula tree and the Once-ler, now gray with age, had locked himself away from the world ever since that fateful day. Regret his only mistress, he sat idly by watching the world progress; a result of his selfish desires. Time had been an excellent teacher for the lessons he had needed to take to heart, but could never fill the void that she had left behind.

He spent the remainder of his days in the solitude of his home, never departing the safety of its loneliness, pondering the mistakes of his youth, and yearning for a single chance at redemption; though he knew as well as anyone, he didn't deserve such an opportunity. From his place at the window he wondered if at times she ever thought of him as well, even half as much as he thought of her. Had she forgiven him…could she ever? What he would give to be able to just make her laugh again, for he knew the hardship the last days of their relationship held for her. He smiled. Just the thought of her face lighting up, experiencing happiness, was enough to bring him a few moments of pleasure; a few moments that broke up the bouts loneliness and depression that he was accustomed to daily.

Still lost amidst a sea of thoughts, his concentration was disrupted by an unfamiliar sound-something he hadn't heard in years, his own doorbell.

Before his house now stood a boy, a boy interested in the tale of the trees. What had happened to them? Why did they leave?

_But no one cared about trees anymore. Didn't they?_

Something about this boy, something he couldn't quite name, had intrigued the Once-ler, so he began to divulge the mystery of the trees to the young boy and when the boy left, half a story under his belt, Once-ler felt a change in the air. Something had lifted from the valley and a new sense replaced the dread that had lingered there.

_Maybe, just maybe,_ he thought to himself and although he didn't know it just yet, fate had dealt Once-ler just one more chance for his redemption.


End file.
